A/N: Every review makes me smile :-) Here's another chapter for you all!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 5

"Hey" Buffy said as she came into the kitchen to find Spike leant over the counter, with his back to her.

She wondered at first why he didn't answer but soon realised as she came closer and found him drinking down blood like it was going out of style. He'd used a lot of strength tonight, been through a stressful time, and he hadn't had that much nourishment the day before with the wedding and everything.

"Sorry, pet" he apologised as he put the mug down on the table, his vampire face sliding away as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, "Been needin' that a while but... in front of Annaliese, I couldn't..."

"I know" Buffy nodded, "But y'know she's a big girl now, she seems to understand a lot" the Slayer said as she went into Spike's arms and hugged him.

They hadn't got a chance to talk since before the battle that brought back the children. Now the young pair had gone upstairs to get some rest, the activities of the day and following night having caught up with them at last, Buffy and Spike now had the chance to think about what all this meant for everybody.

"'S bloody fantastic havin' her back" he said as he thought of the daughter he thought had been lost forever, "But all that time, growing up in that place..."

"She's turned out okay, Spike" Buffy reminded him as she looked him in the eye, "That place doesn't seem like it's damaged her or Connor. I guess knowing you were here helped, the visions and everything"

"One thing Dru can be proud of, passing that little skill on" Spike smiled, "She'd like knowin' that"

"It's going to be a big shock for Angel, and Cordy" Buffy said as they stood there, arms still around each other, "I kinda thought they'd be here by now"

"Probably Peaches fancy convertible's gone and fallen apart half way between LA and here" Spike rolled his eyes, "He needs a new bloody car already"

"This from the guy who drove the same old DeSoto from the seventies til it finally fell apart!" Buffy smirked at him, before they both turned serious again.

It wasn't really the right time for jokes, there was a lot to think about here, a lot to discuss.

"Can't believe the kid still loves me, when she's seen what I am, what I've done" Spike said, shaking his head as he recalled his daughter's explanation of her life so far.

She and Connor had pretty much raised themselves when Holtz and Justine failed to survive the horrors of Quor'toth. Through visions she saw much of the lives and unlives of her parents, as well as Connor's mother and father. They spent every moment together, it would seem, and had a strong bond. The only thing stronger than that might be their will to get home to those they knew would be waiting.

"Spike" Buffy sighed, "I know what you were too, remember?" she told him as he sat down on a stool by the counter and she came to join him, "I read every book, every Watcher's Diary, when we were fighting, and then again when I realised I was falling for that badboy charm you like to show off" she smiled at him, her hand going to his face, "When you love somebody, none of that matters. I think I should feel a little stupid for taking so long to realise that, when Annaliese seems to have it figured out from Day One" she said, as Spike took her hand in his and kissed her palm.

"Doesn't matter how long it took, luv" he shook his head, "We got there eventually" he reminded her, "And now I have you, and Annaliese, both here with me, loving me. What more could I ask for?"

"Um, a mansion, with a swimming pool, and stables, and... ooh, a hometown that doesn't sit right on a Hellmouth" she suggested smartly, as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her.

"You wouldn't really want all that, would you, Slayer?" he asked her with a smirk.

"Not really" Buffy admitted, "Without the Hellmouth I'd be kind of a useless Slayer, and I never would've met you, or my friends, or Annaliese. Life would be kinda crappy" she confirmed with a nod, before a yawn overtook her.

"Seems to me we ought to be getting you to bed, pet" her boyfriend suggested, and though for once his meaning had been innocent, the glint in her eyes gave away the fact that her thought-process had been less so.

They were just exiting the kitchen, headed for the stairs, hand-in-hand, when the phone rang, almost as if it knew they were within reaching distance.

"Don't s'pose there's any danger of you ignoring that then?" Spike said hopefully, but Buffy was already there with her hand on the receiver, taking the call.

Sitting himself down on the bottom step of the stairs, Spike only hoped this was a short call, so he and Buffy could get to bed already. It was only when his highly attuned ears caught the sound of his daughter, and quasi-cousin for lack of a better term for Connor, shifting in their sleep, he realised perhaps it would be best to not be with his woman that way tonight. After all, many of the kids gifts were as yet undefined, and Spike really did not relish the idea of his daughter either hearing or catching sight of his shagging with the Slayer.

"We were going to call, Giles, I swear" Buffy half-yelled, catching Spike's attention once again, "It was kind of an intense night..." she went on to say, shooting her boyfriend a weary look.

It seemed this conversation was going to go on a while, and Buffy was already so tired. He silently offered to take the call for her, explain to her Watcher about the portal, Annaliese and Connor, and so on, but she refused. The woman was awful protective of her duties still. She had to be the one to send in the report on the latest Hellmouth activity and what not. As much as she'd learnt to lean on Spike somewhat, there was things she would always want to do herself, he understood that.

From what Spike could gather from just his woman's side of the conversation, and odd pieces of dialogue from Rupert as he got over-excited or over-wrought and yelled a bit, it seemed the covern had called from England, to tell their old friend of strange happenings that were to occur in Sunnydale. Clearly they must've seen what both Cordelia and he himself had experienced, as Buffy explained everything was okay now, and why.

Old Ripper seemed shocked enough by Annaliese and Connor's return, even more so by the fact they were now teenagers, and she had her mother's visions but without the unwanted bonus of insanity. Spike realised that it was likely Giles wasn't processing this even as well as he and Buffy were, after all he'd had a substantial amount to drink at the wedding reception last night. He'd probably been woken from an alcohol-induced slumber to find one of Xander's slightly less repulsive relatives lying next to him as the telephone rang like crazy, rattling his painful head. Spike smirked at the thought. Poor Watcher, he really didn't hold his drink too well, surprising really given his past and all he was supposed to have got up to in the days when he was better known as Ripper than Rupert.

Spike paid attention to the call again suddenly, when a loud woman's voice and then laughter droned out the Watcher on the other end of the phone. He could hear her from his place on the step but not clearly and so he moved to stand by Buffy as she forced back laughter, and bit her lip.

'Oh come back to bed, Rupert, darling' the woman, who may have been either an Aunt or Cousin of Xander, nobody was absolutely certain.

'Not now, er..., dear' he told her, urging her to hush her drunken noise, which only seemed to cause an increase in her laughter.

It was fairly obvious from his pausing that he couldn't remember the woman's name at all, and a moment of odd hilarity was enjoyed by Spike and Buffy for about ten seconds before a loud rapping started up on the front door.

Spike moved to answer it, though he had already sensed who was there.

"Keep your gelled-up hair on, you old git!" he told the vampire, not raising his voice much since he knew his grand-sire would hear him perfectly well through the door anyway, such was the advantage of vampire hearing!

"I'm not in the mood for your stupid comments, boy!" Angel boomed as he burst into the house, with Cordy hurrying behind him, "What happened in town?"

"We got there late, we get that part" Cordelia told the bleached blond, "From the traces of destruction, I'm guessing it wasn't a fun or easy battle"

"We had enough help" Spike smirked, glancing towards the stairs, and then at Buffy who was desperately trying to end her call with Giles as fast as possible.

"Yeah, okay, Giles, I will, bye" Buffy rambled down the phone, hanging up just as soon as she could and hurrying over to where her ex was glaring at her boyfriend, who was still smirking despite the fact he was likely about to get a punch in the face for his attitude.

"Buffy, good, now for a sensible explanation" Cordelia said hopefully, as she looked to the Slayer for such an answer.

"An explanation, maybe" she nodded, "Sensible? On the Hellmouth? I think you've forgotten how stuff works around here, Cor" she half-smiled as she ushered the pair into the living room along with Spike.

"Oh, I know how stuff works, alright" Cordelia sighed, "The evilness got us from a few miles out. First the car broke down, then Angel's cell phone battery died. I swear, somebody seriously did not want us to get here on time"

"Didn't want him here at all" Spike muttered, his grand-sire glaring at him once again as his vampiric hearing picked up on what the bleached blond had said.

"Please can we not do this every time you guys have to be in the same room!" Buffy pleaded with the two vamps, "After everything else tonight, I can't deal" she told them.

"Yeah, well, after the night we had, and barely making it here before sun up, I don't exactly want to deal with him either" Angel snapped.

"Gotta deal with a whole lot more of a shock than me, Liam" Spike told him with a shake of his head, "See, that rip and a tear of a portal me and the bird saw, it wasn't just the big ugly evil that spilled out..."

Buffy was about to take over the explanation, knowing that at least she'd be a little tactful with it, but neither she nor Spike were given the chance to speak further as a scream came from upstairs, loud enough to wake the dead.

"Bloody hell!" Spike exclaimed as he leapt to his feet and ran for the stairs, Buffy hot on his heels.

"What the frickin' hell was that?" Cordy wanted to know, as she and Angel moved to follow, but no-one was exactly listening to her, they had much more important things to worry about.

To Be Continued...